The man in the room with the four answered in a flash:  “So you have, Savarona, but only for men!  No female can benefit by what you have done!”

“But I tell you that, within the past few minutes, a child has been born under circumstances which can be repeated at any time, and for any sex!”

“In this case,” the Venusian’s voice changed curiously; “in this case, however, it was a girl; for the mother controlled the sex in the customary manner.”  At this, the doctor’s interest became acute.  At the same time, the other three felt a tremendous, inexplicable thrill.

“Friends”—­and Extra’s face shone in his enthusiasm—­“friends, for the first time in creation the human male germ has been dispensed with!  The intellect has done what the laboratory could not do!

“I have the honor to announce that my sister, Amra, has just given birth”—­his voice fairly rang—­“has just given birth to a girl baby, whose only father was her mother’s brain!”

XIV

ESTRA

This time there was no drowning the confusion.  The telephone fairly shook with innumerable cries, shouts, imprecations.  The four gave up trying to hear, and watched the two Venusians.

Myrin was facing Estra now.  Her expression had lost a great deal of its good humor, and there was a certain sharpness in her voice as she exclaimed: 

“Estra—­if your sister has done this, and I see no reason to doubt it, then she has made man superfluous!  If women can produce children mechanically, and govern the sex at will, the coming race need be nothing but females!”

Estra nodded gravely.  “That is what it amounts to, Myrin!”

For a moment the two stared at one another challengingly.  On the earth, their attitude would have indicated some unimportant tiff.  None would have dreamed that the most momentous question in their lives had come up, and had found them at outs.

Next instant Myrin turned, and without another word walked from the room.  Estra followed slowly to the door, where he stood looking after her with an expression of the keenest concern on his sensitive, high-strung features.  The three men from the earth, after a glance, studiously avoided looking at him; but Billie walked up and laid a hand on his arm.

“Are you really in favor of this—­scheme?” she inquired, in a curiously tender voice.  At the same time she gazed intently into Estra’s eyes.

He turned, and the smile came back to his face.  He took Billie’s hand and laid it between both his own.  His voice was even gentler than before.

“Most certainly I do favor my sister’s method, Billie.  It will be the greatest boon the race has ever known.  We can look forward, now”—­and his face shone again—­“can look forward to generation upon generation of people whose spirituality will be absolute!”

The girl moved closer to him.  She spoke with feverish earnestness.